2022 Alvaro Palacios Finca Dofi
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| Type of Wine | Red |
|---|---|
| Country | Spain |
| Region | |
| Appellation | Priorat (Appellation) |
| Winery | |
| Vintage | 2022 |
| Grape | , , Syrah-Shiraz |
| Content (Alc) | 0.75 ltr (14%) |
| Drink window | 2025 - 2036 |
In stock
6 items available
Description
The Dofi is one of the 9 top wines of Spain. On the hard volcanic soil the old vines have to dig deep and this gives a great taste. The vineyards are located on the north and give the wine a special freshness, pure red fruit and blood orange, peach, subtle herbs and anise with an impressive elegance and balance, round and velvety tannins. This is a beautiful Dofi and has received (95-97)-100 Parker points.
The 2022 Finca Dofí is produced with 88% Garnacha, 9% Cariñena, 2% Picapoll and 1% white grapes from a 12.5-hectare slope planted 18 to 38 years ago. It is fermented with a portion of the whole bunches in oak barrels with indigenous yeasts and has had a maceration of 32 days. It is aged in oval oak foudres and large French oak barrels for a period of 14 months.
The Priorato appellation (Priorat in Catalan) in northeastern Spain takes its name from the Priorat de Scala Dei ('Priory of God's Staircase'), a medieval monastery on the Serra del Montsant, the mountain range that dominates this area and borders the valley of the Siurana River. Above ground, only ruins are visible, while underground cellars are still intact; they now serve as wine cellars. The monastery was founded in 1163 by Carthusian monks, after a local shepherd had a vision of angels ascending a staircase to heaven. The village that grew up around the monastery over the centuries is still called Scala Dei. The vineyards in this area (totaling approximately 1600 ha.), on terraces or otherwise, lie against the flanks of the Serra del Montsant and are located at an altitude of between 100 and 700 metres. The soil is hard and rough with a subsoil of rocks, so the vines have no chance of washing away. The originally volcanic soil consists mainly of quartz and red slate ('tiger skin soil', here also called Llicorella) and contains trace elements. Because the soil is poor, the vines have to root deeply in search of water and food.
The yield is therefore no higher than approximately 15 hl/ha, which has a positive effect on the quality and concentration of the wines. The main grape varieties in the region, the garnacha tinta (originally the Priorat grape) and the carinena complement each other perfectly. The aromas and softness of the garnacha combine with the firmness and colour of the carinena. The climate is continental with long, warm summers (up to around 40 degrees C); the influence of the warm eastern Mistral wind is balanced by a cool northerly wind. Annual precipitation amounts to 400-600 mm, most in the periods March-April and October-November, the average temperature is 15 °C and the number of hours of sunshine is 2600. Traditional red wines have traditionally been made in the Priorato: almost black in colour, 100% garnacha, powerful, concentrated, complex and with enormous potential.
FACT: The wine is in our conditioned Wine Warehouse and if you come to pick up the wine you will also receive a nice discount. You will see your discount immediately when you choose Pick up in Checkout page. We are located almost next to the Rijksweg with plenty of parking. Click here for our address.
Specifications
| Type of Wine | Red |
|---|---|
| Country | Spain |
| Region | Catalunya |
| Appellation | Priorat (Appellation) |
| Icons | Icon Spain & Portugal |
| Winery | Alvaro Palacios |
| Grape | Cabernet Sauvignon, Garnacha, Syrah-Shiraz |
| Biological certified | No |
| Natural wine | No |
| Vegan | No |
| Vintage | 2022 |
| Drinking as of | 2025 |
| Drinking till | 2036 |
| Alcohol % | 14 |
| Alcohol free/low | No |
| Content | 0.75 ltr |
| Oak aging | Yes |
| Sparkling | No |
| Dessert wine | No |
| Closure | Cork |
| Parker rating | 97 |
| James Suckling rating | 96 |
| Tasting Profiles | Aards, Boers, Complex, Donker fruit, Droog, Houtgerijpt, Krachtig, Kruidig, Tannines, Vol |
| Drink moments | Indruk maken, Lekker luxe, Open haard |
Professional Reviews
Parker
The Wine Advocate
RP (95-97)
Reviewed by:
Luis Gutiérrez
Release Price:
$130
Drink Date:
2025 - 2035
The 2022 Finca Dofí was produced with 88% Garnacha, 9% Cariñena, 2% Picapoll and 1% white grapes from a 12.5-hectare slope planted 18 to 38 years ago. It fermented with part of full clusters in oak vats with indigenous yeasts and had a maceration of 32 days. It matured in oval oak foudres and large French oak barrels for a period of 14 months. It has 14.4% alcohol and a pH of 3.46 and 4.8 grams of acidity. It has a little more color and ripeness, and it's quite spicy, with notes of licorice and an earthy twist. Palacios told me Picapoll has provided very good acidity and low alcohol; some years they used up to 6% of it (they started grafting it some 12 years ago from the old plants from his old winemaker, Joan Asens). They expected to fill around 28,000 bottles in March 2024.
Álvaro Palacios has been the quality leader of Priorat for a long time. Not only does he produce some of the top wines from the appellation, he is also one of the largest producers there! He now has 29 hectares of vineyards in the village of Gratallops and a further 2.5 in Bellmunt del Priorat, and he produces some 372,000 bottles per vintage.
Cataluña and Priorat have suffered from drought lately. The Priorat zone has always been quite dry, but it's even drier now, some years are dramatic. They got a lot of rain (over 800 liters and lot of mildew, a rarity there!) in 2020, 2021 was more or less normal, 2022 was very dry and 2023 was extremely dry. I tasted the bottled 2021s that come from what many call the last "normal" year, and the wines are as good as expected. I already reported on the young unbottled 2021s in June 2022, but I didn't have the opportunity to taste the bottled wines until now. We also tasted the still unbottled 2022s and the very young 2023.
Palacios calls 2022 "the year of the three heat waves" in Priorat. During the winter, they only got 16 liters of rain at l'Ermita and no more than 10 at Finca Dofí and La Baixada. March and April were more or less normal (56 liters and 67 liters, respectively) and with normal temperatures. But from May, there was a big change. During the flowering that year, temperatures reached an abnormally high 35 degrees Celsius, which caused perfect fruit setting, but the plants started protecting themselves from the heat and lack of water. The summer was hell: three heat waves of over 40 degrees Celsius were alleviated by 42 liters of rain in July. They believe the head-pruned vines were the key to cushion the heat, and they delivered 20% more grapes than an average year. The vines got blocked and the ripeness was contained, while they kept the acidity. They started harvesting one week earlier than normal, and the grapes were pale and had less sugar. The wines are surprisingly fresh for such a year. The grapes from L'Ermita had less color, the crop was abundant and the wine is quite pale; in general, all of the 2022s are quite pale .
2022 still benefitted from the rain and snow from 2021, but 2023 suffered more, as it was equally dry and warm and 2022 had been dry, so the plants had no reserves. People were hoping for the rain that didn't come. 2023 was the driest year in recent times, with only 250 liters in Gratallops between November 2022 and October 2023, which is how they measure rain for a given vintage. So, for the first time EVER they decided to water their vineyards, focusing on the rockier ones and the hilltops, which showed more need, as the vines were in danger of dying. But water is scarce there, and the whole operation is labor intensive and costly. The grapes remained small and concentrated, but the wines show unusual freshness and elegance. They are still very young, but they might be better than the ones from 2022. L'Ermita was harvested between October 5th and 11th.
As for 2021, I have already reported on the character of the year, which Álvaro Palacios defined as "a year of concentration and class." It started with a big snow storm (Filomena) in January 2021, 50 centimeters of snow, to be added to the rain of the year. Despite ups and downs, the weather remained cooler than normal. The summer was really mild and the ripeness slow. There was some rain in late August that complicated things with some botrytis, but the concern was the lack of alcoholic degree in the grapes. The grapes simply wouldn't ripen, and there is a requirement from the Priorat appellation to have a minimum alcohol of 13.5% in the reds. The 2021 l'Ermita has the lowest alcohol ever. The wines are elegant and fresh. The wines were bottled almost one year ago and are truly mind-blowing, perhaps the most elegant vintage to date. The year finished with 449 liters of rain, and the grapes from L’Ermita were harvested the 13th of October. 2021 is a very homogeneous vintage, and the wines showed very well, with purity and elegance. It's a very solid lineup; I tasted the wines three times, with a final blind tasting to confirm the sensations.
Published: May 16, 2024
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua...
James Suckling
Alvaro Palacios Priorat Dofí 2021
Wednesday, November 15, 2023
CountrySpain
RegionCataluña
Vintage2021
CHECK PRICE
DOWNLOAD SHELFTALKER
Score
96
Scented, delineated nose but has depth, too. It effuses wet-stone minerality that gives a thin overlay to the red and blue berries. Some spices, briar and hibiscus, too. Juicy and medium- to full-bodied on the palate, which is a little more vertical and powerful than many of Palacios’ reds, highlighted by real tension and tautness here. Goes on and on. Drink or hold.
Zekun Shuai
Senior Editor
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua...
Exclusive Content
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Wijnhuis
In the late eighties, Alvaro met René Barbier, one of the rediscoverers and 'godfathers' of the Priorat. This tipped him to take a look at the forgotten wine region. Alvaro found vineyards here with very old vines. He knew immediately that he had discovered the area to be able to make absolute top wines. In 1989 he bought his first Priorat vineyard 'Finca Dofi' and in 1993 L'Ermita, a vineyard that is now considered one of the very best of the entire Priorat and is named after the chapel at the top of the vineyard.
With wines such as Finca Dofi and the now legendary L'Ermita he gained world fame and put the Priorat on the map as a wine region. All vineyards are processed on the basis of biological and / or dynamic principles to obtain the highest possible quality grapes and wine with the most natural character. Alvaro Palacios is barely 40 when he seems to have accomplished everything. Coming from a family of winegrowers - owners of the Bodegas Palacios Ramondo - as a young man in his twenties he learned the trade with Christian Moueix in the castles of Petrus and Trotanoy. Then he followed the catalan René Barbier in Priorato. Deeply impressed by ancient land and their qualitative potential, he decides to mine his own vineyard in this God-forsaken hole, 135 km south-west of Barcelona. According to Palacios' own words, the general belief is that "the yield is too low, the land is unworkable and requires a lot of manual labor" and that the chance of profitability is small. The sequel shows that the skeptics were wrong. The first millésime, namely the Ermita 1993, was immediately mentioned in the "superstars" club of Spanish wines. This cuvée, consisting of 80 to 90% Grenache Vieilles Vignes balanced by Cabernet Sauvignon and Carignan Vieiles Vignes, has provoked exceptional reactions in Spain but also in the rest of the world. The ultra-modern company of Alvaro Palacios, dominating the village of Gratallops from the top of the hill, testifies to its decisive influence and ongoing efforts to revolutionize the Spanish wine industry. Alvaro Palacios, the architect of the success of the Ermita, summarizes with conviction: "The philosophy behind the vinification involves expressing the character of the terroir with the greatest transparency and purity."
The authoritative British wine magazine Decanter has named Alvaro Palacios Winemaker of the Year 2015. He is honored for his efforts to put Spain on the map in general and the regions of Bierzo and Priorat in particular worldwide. Palacios has illustrious predecessors. Last year, the brothers Perrin won from Chateau de Beaucastel, for which the honor went to Angelo Gaja, Robert Mondavi and the late Serge Hochar.
At Grandcruwijnen.nl you will find an extensive selection of the wines of Alvaro Palacios such as his absolute cult wine the L'Ermita and the Dofi, but we can certainly also recommend the wines that are a lot friendlier in price such as the Álvaro Palacios Camins del Priorat. Click here for an overview of the wines of Alvaro Palacios
The Dofi is one of the 9 top wines of Spain. On the hard volcanic soil the old vines have to dig deep and this gives a great taste. The vineyards are located on the north and give the wine a special freshness, pure red fruit and blood orange, peach, subtle herbs and anise with an impressive elegance and balance, round and velvety tannins. This is a beautiful Dofi and has received (95-97)-100 Parker points.
The 2022 Finca Dofí is produced with 88% Garnacha, 9% Cariñena, 2% Picapoll and 1% white grapes from a 12.5-hectare slope planted 18 to 38 years ago. It is fermented with a portion of the whole bunches in oak barrels with indigenous yeasts and has had a maceration of 32 days. It is aged in oval oak foudres and large French oak barrels for a period of 14 months.
The Priorato appellation (Priorat in Catalan) in northeastern Spain takes its name from the Priorat de Scala Dei ('Priory of God's Staircase'), a medieval monastery on the Serra del Montsant, the mountain range that dominates this area and borders the valley of the Siurana River. Above ground, only ruins are visible, while underground cellars are still intact; they now serve as wine cellars. The monastery was founded in 1163 by Carthusian monks, after a local shepherd had a vision of angels ascending a staircase to heaven. The village that grew up around the monastery over the centuries is still called Scala Dei. The vineyards in this area (totaling approximately 1600 ha.), on terraces or otherwise, lie against the flanks of the Serra del Montsant and are located at an altitude of between 100 and 700 metres. The soil is hard and rough with a subsoil of rocks, so the vines have no chance of washing away. The originally volcanic soil consists mainly of quartz and red slate ('tiger skin soil', here also called Llicorella) and contains trace elements. Because the soil is poor, the vines have to root deeply in search of water and food.
The yield is therefore no higher than approximately 15 hl/ha, which has a positive effect on the quality and concentration of the wines. The main grape varieties in the region, the garnacha tinta (originally the Priorat grape) and the carinena complement each other perfectly. The aromas and softness of the garnacha combine with the firmness and colour of the carinena. The climate is continental with long, warm summers (up to around 40 degrees C); the influence of the warm eastern Mistral wind is balanced by a cool northerly wind. Annual precipitation amounts to 400-600 mm, most in the periods March-April and October-November, the average temperature is 15 °C and the number of hours of sunshine is 2600. Traditional red wines have traditionally been made in the Priorato: almost black in colour, 100% garnacha, powerful, concentrated, complex and with enormous potential.
FACT: The wine is in our conditioned Wine Warehouse and if you come to pick up the wine you will also receive a nice discount. You will see your discount immediately when you choose Pick up in Checkout page. We are located almost next to the Rijksweg with plenty of parking. Click here for our address.
| Type of Wine | Red |
|---|---|
| Country | Spain |
| Region | Catalunya |
| Appellation | Priorat (Appellation) |
| Icons | Icon Spain & Portugal |
| Winery | Alvaro Palacios |
| Grape | Cabernet Sauvignon, Garnacha, Syrah-Shiraz |
| Biological certified | No |
| Natural wine | No |
| Vegan | No |
| Vintage | 2022 |
| Drinking as of | 2025 |
| Drinking till | 2036 |
| Alcohol % | 14 |
| Alcohol free/low | No |
| Content | 0.75 ltr |
| Oak aging | Yes |
| Sparkling | No |
| Dessert wine | No |
| Closure | Cork |
| Parker rating | 97 |
| James Suckling rating | 96 |
| Tasting Profiles | Aards, Boers, Complex, Donker fruit, Droog, Houtgerijpt, Krachtig, Kruidig, Tannines, Vol |
| Drink moments | Indruk maken, Lekker luxe, Open haard |
Parker
The Wine Advocate
RP (95-97)
Reviewed by:
Luis Gutiérrez
Release Price:
$130
Drink Date:
2025 - 2035
The 2022 Finca Dofí was produced with 88% Garnacha, 9% Cariñena, 2% Picapoll and 1% white grapes from a 12.5-hectare slope planted 18 to 38 years ago. It fermented with part of full clusters in oak vats with indigenous yeasts and had a maceration of 32 days. It matured in oval oak foudres and large French oak barrels for a period of 14 months. It has 14.4% alcohol and a pH of 3.46 and 4.8 grams of acidity. It has a little more color and ripeness, and it's quite spicy, with notes of licorice and an earthy twist. Palacios told me Picapoll has provided very good acidity and low alcohol; some years they used up to 6% of it (they started grafting it some 12 years ago from the old plants from his old winemaker, Joan Asens). They expected to fill around 28,000 bottles in March 2024.
Álvaro Palacios has been the quality leader of Priorat for a long time. Not only does he produce some of the top wines from the appellation, he is also one of the largest producers there! He now has 29 hectares of vineyards in the village of Gratallops and a further 2.5 in Bellmunt del Priorat, and he produces some 372,000 bottles per vintage.
Cataluña and Priorat have suffered from drought lately. The Priorat zone has always been quite dry, but it's even drier now, some years are dramatic. They got a lot of rain (over 800 liters and lot of mildew, a rarity there!) in 2020, 2021 was more or less normal, 2022 was very dry and 2023 was extremely dry. I tasted the bottled 2021s that come from what many call the last "normal" year, and the wines are as good as expected. I already reported on the young unbottled 2021s in June 2022, but I didn't have the opportunity to taste the bottled wines until now. We also tasted the still unbottled 2022s and the very young 2023.
Palacios calls 2022 "the year of the three heat waves" in Priorat. During the winter, they only got 16 liters of rain at l'Ermita and no more than 10 at Finca Dofí and La Baixada. March and April were more or less normal (56 liters and 67 liters, respectively) and with normal temperatures. But from May, there was a big change. During the flowering that year, temperatures reached an abnormally high 35 degrees Celsius, which caused perfect fruit setting, but the plants started protecting themselves from the heat and lack of water. The summer was hell: three heat waves of over 40 degrees Celsius were alleviated by 42 liters of rain in July. They believe the head-pruned vines were the key to cushion the heat, and they delivered 20% more grapes than an average year. The vines got blocked and the ripeness was contained, while they kept the acidity. They started harvesting one week earlier than normal, and the grapes were pale and had less sugar. The wines are surprisingly fresh for such a year. The grapes from L'Ermita had less color, the crop was abundant and the wine is quite pale; in general, all of the 2022s are quite pale .
2022 still benefitted from the rain and snow from 2021, but 2023 suffered more, as it was equally dry and warm and 2022 had been dry, so the plants had no reserves. People were hoping for the rain that didn't come. 2023 was the driest year in recent times, with only 250 liters in Gratallops between November 2022 and October 2023, which is how they measure rain for a given vintage. So, for the first time EVER they decided to water their vineyards, focusing on the rockier ones and the hilltops, which showed more need, as the vines were in danger of dying. But water is scarce there, and the whole operation is labor intensive and costly. The grapes remained small and concentrated, but the wines show unusual freshness and elegance. They are still very young, but they might be better than the ones from 2022. L'Ermita was harvested between October 5th and 11th.
As for 2021, I have already reported on the character of the year, which Álvaro Palacios defined as "a year of concentration and class." It started with a big snow storm (Filomena) in January 2021, 50 centimeters of snow, to be added to the rain of the year. Despite ups and downs, the weather remained cooler than normal. The summer was really mild and the ripeness slow. There was some rain in late August that complicated things with some botrytis, but the concern was the lack of alcoholic degree in the grapes. The grapes simply wouldn't ripen, and there is a requirement from the Priorat appellation to have a minimum alcohol of 13.5% in the reds. The 2021 l'Ermita has the lowest alcohol ever. The wines are elegant and fresh. The wines were bottled almost one year ago and are truly mind-blowing, perhaps the most elegant vintage to date. The year finished with 449 liters of rain, and the grapes from L’Ermita were harvested the 13th of October. 2021 is a very homogeneous vintage, and the wines showed very well, with purity and elegance. It's a very solid lineup; I tasted the wines three times, with a final blind tasting to confirm the sensations.
Published: May 16, 2024
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua...
James Suckling
Alvaro Palacios Priorat Dofí 2021
Wednesday, November 15, 2023
CountrySpain
RegionCataluña
Vintage2021
CHECK PRICE
DOWNLOAD SHELFTALKER
Score
96
Scented, delineated nose but has depth, too. It effuses wet-stone minerality that gives a thin overlay to the red and blue berries. Some spices, briar and hibiscus, too. Juicy and medium- to full-bodied on the palate, which is a little more vertical and powerful than many of Palacios’ reds, highlighted by real tension and tautness here. Goes on and on. Drink or hold.
Zekun Shuai
Senior Editor
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua...
Exclusive Content
Sign in to unlock professional wine reviews from world-renowned critics
In the late eighties, Alvaro met René Barbier, one of the rediscoverers and 'godfathers' of the Priorat. This tipped him to take a look at the forgotten wine region. Alvaro found vineyards here with very old vines. He knew immediately that he had discovered the area to be able to make absolute top wines. In 1989 he bought his first Priorat vineyard 'Finca Dofi' and in 1993 L'Ermita, a vineyard that is now considered one of the very best of the entire Priorat and is named after the chapel at the top of the vineyard.
With wines such as Finca Dofi and the now legendary L'Ermita he gained world fame and put the Priorat on the map as a wine region. All vineyards are processed on the basis of biological and / or dynamic principles to obtain the highest possible quality grapes and wine with the most natural character. Alvaro Palacios is barely 40 when he seems to have accomplished everything. Coming from a family of winegrowers - owners of the Bodegas Palacios Ramondo - as a young man in his twenties he learned the trade with Christian Moueix in the castles of Petrus and Trotanoy. Then he followed the catalan René Barbier in Priorato. Deeply impressed by ancient land and their qualitative potential, he decides to mine his own vineyard in this God-forsaken hole, 135 km south-west of Barcelona. According to Palacios' own words, the general belief is that "the yield is too low, the land is unworkable and requires a lot of manual labor" and that the chance of profitability is small. The sequel shows that the skeptics were wrong. The first millésime, namely the Ermita 1993, was immediately mentioned in the "superstars" club of Spanish wines. This cuvée, consisting of 80 to 90% Grenache Vieilles Vignes balanced by Cabernet Sauvignon and Carignan Vieiles Vignes, has provoked exceptional reactions in Spain but also in the rest of the world. The ultra-modern company of Alvaro Palacios, dominating the village of Gratallops from the top of the hill, testifies to its decisive influence and ongoing efforts to revolutionize the Spanish wine industry. Alvaro Palacios, the architect of the success of the Ermita, summarizes with conviction: "The philosophy behind the vinification involves expressing the character of the terroir with the greatest transparency and purity."
The authoritative British wine magazine Decanter has named Alvaro Palacios Winemaker of the Year 2015. He is honored for his efforts to put Spain on the map in general and the regions of Bierzo and Priorat in particular worldwide. Palacios has illustrious predecessors. Last year, the brothers Perrin won from Chateau de Beaucastel, for which the honor went to Angelo Gaja, Robert Mondavi and the late Serge Hochar.
At Grandcruwijnen.nl you will find an extensive selection of the wines of Alvaro Palacios such as his absolute cult wine the L'Ermita and the Dofi, but we can certainly also recommend the wines that are a lot friendlier in price such as the Álvaro Palacios Camins del Priorat. Click here for an overview of the wines of Alvaro Palacios